1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an emulsion breaking material applicable to a treatment of an emulsion of emulsifiable compound, especially of an emulsified oil, and also relates to a production process thereof.
More particularly, this invention relates to an emulsifiable compound treating material which is formed from an insoluble fibrous material having hydrophobic groups and hydrophilic groups in a suitable amount and a ratio, said material prepared by conducting chemical treatments of fibrous materials insolubilized by crosslinking fibrous materials of aromatic monovinyl polymers with sulfonyl groups.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Severe social problems have recently been raised about public hazards such as water pollution and sea corruption caused by the waste water containing emulsifiable compounds, especially by the waste water containing animal fats, plant and/or mineral oils.
Among the treatments of the waste water containing said compounds, the removal of an oil component from the waste water containing an emulsified oil, such as an oil emulsified by the addition of surfactant or extremely small oil particles, is very hard when compared to the removal of dispersed oil particles having larger diameters.
The above-described waste water is discharged from factories of various industries such as machinery industry, chemical industry, steel industry, as a matter of course, and food industry, paint industry and textile industry as well.
As a method for the treatment of the waste water containing an emulsified oil, hitherto, there are mentioned electrolytic process; oil-water separation by pressure/foam separation, flocculation precipitation or filtration with an addition of salting-out reagents, flocculating reagents or cohesive reagents; or extraction of oil using solvents.
Every method, however, has some disadvantages, for instance,
(A) LARGE SCALE EQUIPMENT OR TIME-CONSUMING TREATMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PURIFY THE WASTE WATER UP TO THE UNDETECTABLE CONCENTRATION OF OIL.
(B) SOME OF THE ABOVEMENTIONED METHODS NECESSITATE OTHER SUBSEQUENT TREATMENTS SINCE THEY ARE NOT EFFICIENT ENOUGH TO DECREASE THE OIL CONCENTRATION LESS THAN 5 PPM OF MINERAL OILS AND 30 PPM OF ANIMAL AND PLANT OILS AS SUGGESTED BY THE Country's Pollution Control Standards (hereinafter referred to as "CPCS").
The filtration treatment which separates oil from water with a filter having simpler apparatus and equipment is effective for the dispersion of free oil, however, it has a poor effect on the removal of emulsified oil of fine particles.
And a filter (fibrous filter), which may be highly effective for such emulsified oil, has not yet been put to practical use.